Blood Pearls: The Fall Of The Silver Millennium
by x-Mysti-x
Summary: Series of oneshots involving the death of the Senshi during that last battle at the destruction of the Silver Millenium Many pairings
1. Princess Serenity

_**Blood Pearls - Fall of the Silver Millennium**_

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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, not me. This piece of fiction is purely for the amusement of the author and/or reader, and has not been created with the intent to make a profit. Me no own, you no sue!**_

_**Author's notes: This is a group of interconnected one-shots on how I speculate each of the senshi died during the Silver Millennium's defeat. It's just an experimental dip into the pool of possibilities. It does feature some characters that were probably not around (as it's my interpretation), but not prominently.**_

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One: Princess Serenity_

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Princess Serenity, named after her mother, the queen of the prestigious Moon Kingdom and leader of the Silver Millennium - the inter-planetary solar alliance, was a curious girl. Her sky blue eyes shone with the kind of joy for life and everything in it that you only find rarely. Blonde hair that would have otherwise spilled around her like a gold curtain was held back in a style reserved specially for the royal family - two buns atop her head: a trait that would, in the currently distant future, earn her the nickname "Odango-atama", literally "Meatball-head". But, long before the one named Sailor Moon would awaken, here she was, fluttering anxiously around the entrance hall to see if she could catch a glance of the Prince of Earth. The word was he had been sent to sign a cease fire agreement with her mother on behalf of his parents - the Earth (or Terra, as it was known by everyone else in the Solar System) had long been on bad terms with the rest of the Silver Millennium. Hopefully now all this would change. 

**Hopefully.**

"Princess?"

The sound of an attendant's voice dragged Serenity out of her daze and she stopped, turning her head slightly to look at the man. He was dressed in the usual castle uniform - silver and white cotton. The four people gathered behind him were what caught her attention.

Standing next to the castle attendant with a pleasant smile on her face was a young girl of about twelve, dressed in an elegant red gown. Flanking her were three more girls, all dressed in some skimpy leather variants on a normal Sailor Fuku.

The girl in the red dress took a step forwards, waving the attendant away as she curtsied to Princess Serenity.

"My name is Princess Kakyuu, I am acting as an emissary from the planet Kinmoku to Queen Serenity." the girl introduced herself, before gesturing to each of the girls accompanying her in turn.

"These are my guardians, the Sailor Starlights. Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Maker, and Sailor Star Healer."

Serenity took a good look at each Starlight in turn, her eyes falling on Fighter last and longest. Though she looked to be slightly younger than Princess Serenity herself and far below her own station, there was something about her that captivated the White Moon Princesses attention, her cheeks turning a rosy shade as a smile lit her face.

"I'm.. I am Princess S-Serenity." Serenity stuttered, her eyes unable to move from the midnight blue of Fighter's, an act which Princess Kakyuu was watching with a quiet smile. The other two Starlights were trying their best not to laugh at the obvious chemistry between the Princess and Fighter, who was looking back at her just as intently. Kakyuu cleared her throat gently and Serenity was brought back to the living world with a jolt, immediately turning her attention away from Fighter and putting her business head back on.

"My guardians are on duty, but I'm sure they'd be glad to meet you some time." she said, smiling as the young Kakyuu nodded and continuing after a brief pause. "My mother is in a meeting with the Prince of Earth upon his arrival but I can direct you to her if you wish."

No sooner had she finished her sentence than the doors of the entrance hall were pulled open and the man she had been waiting to see walked through into the hallway, continuing up to the small set of stairs that led onto a dais that held the pristine marble double doors into the throne room. Prince Endymion was a fine example of everything necessary for a prince to be, tall, strong and flawless.

Once again, Princess Serenity found herself robbed of breath, her cheeks staining scarlet as Endymion paused, turning to her as he became aware of her presence. Taking her hand, he knelt and pressed his lips to her hand before looking up at her again.

"Princess Serenity."

Feeling light-headed and blissful, Princess Serenity curtsied with a gentle smile, sure this moment would remain in her memory forever.

"Prince Endymion."

The throne room doors were pulled open from the inside and the ever graceful Queen Serenity stepped out of the throne room and down the stairs of the dais to greet the Prince. Before leaving, Endymion presented Serenity with another thing she would never forget - a single red rose. It was the start of a beautiful (and deadly) romance.

There was a moment of tension that the young princess was completely oblivious to as Prince Endymion's gaze travelled across the group of people massed behind Princess Serenity - Kakyuu and her Starlights. For a moment, he and Fighter exchanged glances - both sizing each other up in terms of threat, the Starlight having been looking a little too long and too hard at _his_ girl for the prince's liking and Fighter not particularly liking the fact he had literally just swanned in and taken away Serenity's attention, _just because he was a prince_.

Endymion left with the Queen a few seconds later and again the throne room doors were shut, leaving the Kinmoku emissaries to wait once more until the Queen was free.

"Serenity? Serenity?!" Along the marble corridor two sets of clicking high heeled shoes could be seen as two of Serenity's guardians walked into view. Serenity herself was staring at the closed throne room doors, clutching the rose to her heart with a rather goofy smile on her face. The first was roughly Serenity's height, with blonde hair that went to just past her waist. The skirt of her fuku and back-bow were orange, while the bow on the front of the fuku was royal blue. A crystalline sword was fastened to a silver belt rested around her waist, displaying her position as captain of Serenity's guard force. This was the senshi of love herself, Sailor Venus - otherwise known as the Princess of Venus, Aino Minako.

Behind her walked a senshi clad in varying shades of blue with a look of worry on her face that mirrored Venus' as she scanned the hall for the presence of her Princess through a clear blue visor, her gloved fingers tapping away against the keys of the super computer which rested in her other palm. She was the senshi of wisdom, Sailor Mercury, known outside of her Fuku as the shy Princess of Mercury, Mizuno Ami.

Venus breathed a sigh of relief as she laid her hand on Serenity's shoulder.

"Geez, Serenity, don't scare me like that!" she commented, red in the face after running the length of the hall to catch up to Serenity before she disappeared again.

Seeming to jerk out of her trance, Serenity smiled and nodded. "Sorry about that, Minako-chan." she replied. While Serenity and Minako began nattering to each other about plans for Serenity's 16th birthday celebration, which happened to be just under a month away, Sailor Mercury took more of an interest in the new arrivals.

"Greetings. I am Sailor Mercury, one of the four guardians of Princess Serenity. This is our captain, Sailor Venus." she said. Hearing her name, Minako grinned, making a peace sign before returning to her conversation. Princess Kakyuu introduced herself, _again_, but before long it was time for them to leave.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Mercury said taking a step away from Star Maker back towards her princess, barely hearing Maker's cordial reply over her sky-high feelings as she tried to focus and plan out the rest of her schedule for the day. Venus was already halfway through pulling Healer into a bone-crushing hug, unusually friendly to say this was a first meeting. Serenity herself felt slightly more awkward. After her interaction with Endymion she didn't quite know what to say, or what she felt. So she simply nodded to Princess Kakyuu and Fighter, a long, somewhat significant glance shared with the latter, before leading her two guardians away down the corridor and disappearing from sight in the swish of a pearl sheen dress.

As she watched the Moon Princess leave, Fighter let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as she heard Healer let out a snort next to her. Maker looked, if possible, more contemplative than normal as she stared at the spot where Mercury could last be seen.

"Some girls, huh?" Healer commented, nudging Fighter out of her trance. The raven haired Starlight nodded.

"Yeah. Think we'll ever see them again?"

Maker shrugged. "There's a chance."

Fighter smiled. "Let's go."

Without another word, though their minds were filled with thoughts of the three girls, the Starlights turned and followed their princess into the throne room.

* * *

Every Sailor Senshi under the service of the Moon Kingdom had been called back to the Moon over the week preceding that night. It was supposedly for the ball held in celebration of her sixteenth birthday, but now the Princess knew the _real_ reason. And it didn't matter to her. It didn't matter to her that her kingdom and her people were under attack. It didn't matter that her own safety was more than compromised the moment she had left the confines of the protected space in her bedroom. All that mattered to her right now was the safety of Prince Endymion. He had been the one who left her in her bedroom to go back to the fighting and defend the Moon from the rampaging forces of darkness which were now attacking it. 

The witch-Queen Beryl, infused with the demonic power of Queen Metallia, had long lusted after the power of the Moon Kingdom. And now she was leading the bewitched people of Earth against the place she hated and wanted so much. She was triumphant, and she knew it. The land outside the palace was already in ruins, screaming Moonlings running hither and thither as her soldiers picked them off; every man, woman, and child.

Even the palace itself would not hold out much longer, the tattered marble frame of the balcony on which Princess Serenity had just been stood crumbling to dust under her feet as she launched herself into the air, her scream echoing across the white expanse of the floor several stories beneath her as she lunged after an also free-falling Prince.

"Endymion!"

"Serenity!"

For a few seconds that seemed to stretch into an eternity the two strained to reach each other across the space, their hands touching. And for just that brief period, Serenity felt warm. She felt safe. She felt that somehow, the 'Powers That Be' would defeat Beryl's ambition and save her kingdom, her guardians, her subjects, and herself. Then, the touching moment ended in despair as one of Beryl's seven Great Youma took notice of the falling pair and surrounded them in a deadly storm of dark energy. A strong gust of wind pulled the two lovers apart, the energy swirling around them taking the form of some sort of twisted lightning as it struck the pair.

The pain was blinding as Serenity felt darkness encroach her senses. Dead weight was dragging her down now, though it felt as though the Moon's gravity was slowing their fall. She could not move, laid out spread-eagled on her back in the sky, her pearly white dress and golden hair flapping ragged around her as she descended, the crescent moon on her forehead, once proud symbol of her lineage was a mere mockery of what it had been, dulled and faded. As her eyes slipped closed, tears began to leak past her lashes, floating along with her body in the lessened gravity as the White Moon Princess died, her beloved Prince suffering the same fate only inches away.

Not far off among the ruined courtyard, the Moon Queen fell to her knees at the sight of her eldest and only daughter's body splayed almost gracefully across the courtyard, hovering a few inches above the ground. Her fingers tightened around the Crescent Moon Stick in her hand, tears leaking past her eyes as she fitted the Silver Crystal, an immeasurably powerful diamond, into the slot on the Stick designed to hold it. The screams of her faithful Senshi and Soldiers alike reached her ears, tainted on the edges by Beryl's sickening laughter. Her people were falling to the power of the Great Youma like flies. The only thought she had left to cling to in hope of comfort was that when this was all over, she had the power to put it right. At least to an extent. The Moon Kingdom's waste would not be the end Queen Metallia so passionately desired. With that thought, she waited amid the ruins, knowing that although she would not see the light of the next morning, some time in the future her daughter might.

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Author's Notes:**_

_**Well, that's the royal family gone. Next up: Sailor Jupiter. Don't forget to R&R!**_


	2. Sailor Jupiter

_**Blood Pearls - Fall of the Silver Millennium**_

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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, not me. This piece of fiction is purely for the amusement of the author and/or reader, and has not been created with the intent to make a profit. Me no own, you no sue!**_

_**Author's notes: This is the one-shot revolving around my theory of Jupiter's death. The Inner senshi one-shots involve suggestions of Inner/Shittenou, Inner/Starlight and Inner/Inner pairings. Don't like, don't read as flaming is a waste of your time.**_

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Two: Sailor Jupiter_

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One of her favourite spots in the palace was the beach. The shore of the only large collection of water on the Moon, the lake called 'Mare Serenitatis', or Sea of Serenity, was the location for the shimmering white marble structure widely known throughout the Milky Way. 

Its popularity, however, was not the reason the girl named Makoto Kino was currently settled outside it, sat amongst the silver sand as she watched the water of the lake. Its waters were unmoved by tides due to it being _on_ the Moon, completely still unless outside forces disturbed it and caused ripples.

Although she was not on duty right now, Sailor Jupiter was stilled dressed in her fuku, green and pink being her colours of choice. A rose earring was present on each ear, a gift given to her not so long ago from Nephrite, one of the four generals of the Prince of Earth. Like the Guardian Senshi of Princess Serenity, the generals worked as bodyguards. Their interactions were purely business based.. _supposedly_.

"_Serenity!__ Serenity?! Confound it all, where is that girl?" Sailor Mars muttered, thinking of the violent things she was going to do when she caught up to the once again missing Moon Princess. It was only because she had the tendency to over-react that she was so worried._

_Jupiter, walking along the rough pathway beside her, knew that was not the only reason.__ They had arrived on Earth (or Terra, take your pick) not two minutes ago since they knew without saying that was where their charge had snuck off to. At least they had not been forced to comb the surface, that place was savage and dangerous, full of uncivilised villagers.. or so it was said.__ Jupiter had never really had reason to traverse the surface of the planet before - the royal family lived in Elysion, so that was the only place a royal guardian would be required to visit._

"_Serenity?!" Mars resumed her calling as she strode angrily through the palace of Elysion. "What're we going to do if someone sees us?! Serenity's not even meant to be on Earth." the dark haired senshi of fire complained as she moved along the path._

_Jupiter, however, had slowed down a little as she admired the scenery. Elysion was a place made from the "beautiful dreams" of the people of Earth, and its appearance reflected that. Shimmering crystal was everywhere, warped and fluted into strange shapes. Flowers of many varieties littered the fresh green grass, the scent of roses floating along on the breeze._

'_No wonder Serenity likes it so much here.' Jupiter thought to herself as she continued down the path, not noticing that Mars was long gone due to the fact she had slowed down. She didn't get much further before she met trouble in the shape of a man. Two men, actually. She found herself sprawling on the floor as a she tripped over the foot placed directly in her path._

"_Well look what we have here, Jadeite." Jupiter groaned and rolled her eyes. She recognised that voice. _

"_Screw you, Nephrite." the brunette replied through gritted teeth. She'd seen the four Shitennou every time Endymion came to the Moon (or snuck there, either option happened just as often nowadays), and not liked them that much, to be perfectly honest. Something seemed off about the four men. Particularly the arrogant, chocolate haired one laughing heartily at her expense right now. He was the only one who had ever been good enough to get her on the floor (not like that! she told herself, reminding herself again to stop with the perverted thoughts she seemed to be getting lately whenever he showed up.)__ and what was worse, he knew it._

"_Why thank you, Mako-chan." Nephrite said as he extended a hand to help her up. Ignoring it, she got to her feet herself, dusting off her fuku and fixing him with a disdainful glare._

"_That's Sailor Jupiter to you." she replied as levelly as was possible through her anger. She completely missed Jadeite over-exaggeratedly mouthing "she's just playing hard to get with you" over her shoulder and winking. What she didn't miss, however, was Nephrite's snort of poorly concealed mirth in response to his fellow Shitennou's actions._

_It was her turn to laugh when she heard loud complaints echoing down the paved path. A few seconds later Sailor Mars could be seen walking back towards the three of them, Serenity squirming as she was tossed over Mars' shoulder like a sack of potatoes._

"_Three guesses where I found her." Mars muttered, sending a sideways glare at the princess unceremoniously hung over her shoulder as said princess fell silent and still almost fearfully._

_Jupiter chuckled. "Hmm, I don't know.. maybe.. in the arms of Endymion kissing him senseless?"_

_A derisive snort followed by a "that's not all they were doing" from Mars and an embarrassed squeak from an obviously red faced Serenity told her all she needed to know and more, and she burst out laughing; shortly followed by the two generals. While she wouldn't normally have done anything, she really needed an excuse to get back at Nephrite, taking her opportunity to pounce, knocking him to the floor as she jumped on him, fully intending to cause some pain as the pair of them tumbled into some bushes off the side of the path._

"_Don't laugh at my Princess, jerk!"_

"_Well, let's go then." a disgruntled and not particularly listening Mars said, setting Serenity down and beginning to tug her off. She threw a quick glance at Jadeite, looking away just as quickly before turning to leave the scene. She turned back at the edge of the path noticing that her companion had vanished. She shot Jadeite another wary glance, the blonde Shitennou shrugging as he too looked around for any sign of their missing fellows._

"_Uh.. guys.." Serenity's cheeks were taking a second attempt at putting a tomato to shame as she peeked through the bushes Jupiter and Nephrite had disappeared behind. Giggling, she waved Mars and Jadeite over who sent another disbelieving look at each other before ducking down to join her in whatever she was seeing._

_How it happened, they didn't know, but what they were doing was clear enough.__ Jupiter was too pre-occupied with __kissing Nephrite to care who had initiated the lip-lock, too pre-occupied with running her hands through his hair and with the dark lust overtaking her senses to care that her princess, Mars and Jadeite were watching every movement they made. __**Perverts..**_

Jupiter chuckled as she threw a small, round pebble into the water. To be honest, she didn't know where her heart lay anymore. Her companion Mercury had been growing on her, little by little, but Nephrite was still as strong in her thoughts as ever. She knew that their love, if it could be called love with their separate duties, would never see realisation because of her charge. She did not resent Princess Serenity, far from it, but being a Senshi meant she was not allowed relationships, whether the other half of the relationship was a Shitennou or not. It had been a while since she heard from him last, at least a month or two. She sighed. Did he care?

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Every Sailor Senshi under the service of the Moon Kingdom had been called to the Moon over the course of the week. As one of the four Guardians, Sailor Jupiter was already present within the palace. Present, and ready for the invasion that she had already known was about to take place. Everybody knew, with the exception of Princess Serenity. It had already been decided that after the Masquerade she was to be locked in her bedroom; a protected space, so that if the battle went ill, she would be protected beyond the death of her guardians. 

_Beyond the death of her guardians._Up until half an hour ago, Jupiter would not have thought this possible. Now, however, she was starting to have doubts. Serious doubts.

"Supreme Thunder!" she shouted, aiming thunder at the hideous demon stretched out over the sky above the palace. From behind her, the clattering of shoes was heard as her fellow Guardians rushed to her aid.

"Crescent Beam!" Venus joined in.

"Bubble Spray!"

"Fire Soul!"

Mars and Mercury were also there. Both sounding as exhausted as she was. The four guardians had been fighting off the armies marching on the palace but had been forced to pull back until they were as they were now: wounded, but still on their feet. The worst was yet to come.

"Where is Serenity?" Venus asked frantically, voicing the question on Jupiter's lips.

"Protected. Endymion's guarding her." Mars said calmly, her attention taken almost at once by the fact that her attack had done nothing to the demon she was sure they'd obliterated by now.

In response, the hovering demon, one of Beryl's Great Youma, merged their collected power from the attacks fired at it and sent it back at the assembled Guardians. Jupiter screamed in pain as fire, ice, light energy and thunder coursed through her body simultaneously. _Thunder_, she thought, enraged, _**my**__ thunder!_

Her angry thoughts were interrupted as she struggled against the pain affecting her and tried to stand. She barely heard Mars yelp "Split up!" as she ran blindly back towards the inner courts of the palace.

Approaching the desolate, empty throne room, Jupiter slowed, giving in to the pain for just a second. It was worse than before as the after effects of the burning, freezing sensations that had been wracking her minutes before took over. She willed herself not to fall to her knees as she looked up. A slight smile came to her face as she saw the pristine white of the throne room before her. It was a wide expanse, holding a few chairs before the throne and a large blue carpet going up the centre of the room. Behind the throne was a statue of Queen Serenity holding her Moon Stick aloft, the glass sphere meant to resemble the Ginzuishou reflecting one solitary beam of sunlight across the room. Everything around it was utterly wrecked and in disarray. Chairs were splintered; blood stained the floor in some places bodies had just been left where they were hewed down. Jupiter frowned at the desecration.

She took a step forwards only to find herself sprawled on the floor, having been tripped by someone who wasted no time continuing the attack. A sword tip pierced the marble with a harsh chink as she instinctively rolled away from it. It had been meant for her head. She got up and turned, only to cry out in pain as the blade cut a clean path straight through her stomach. The wound was not deep, but it was deep enough to allow the acid to seep through, slowly burning the rest of her internal organs. Her otherwise pristine fuku was stained a deep crimson as she fell to her knees with the knowledge it was too late for her. She heard an emotionless "Hn." that sent chills up her spine before her attacker turned and walked away. _She knew that voice._

_Nephrite._

The pain in her gut was nothing to the pain which now clenched an iron fist around her heart and pulled relentlessly. Why? He had said he loved her.. so why?!

One hand pressed to the wound on her stomach, she struggled back out to the courtyard. She had twenty minutes, maximum. Looking up to Serenity's balcony, she gasped. There, in all her nefarious beauty, was Beryl, stooping over Princess Serenity and Endymion. _Why had Serenity left her room?!_

The thought paled in importance as she noticed that Beryl had her back turned, and was wide open to attack. All her interest was focused upon the couple in front of her. _Yosh!_

"Sparkling Wide Press-"

Lifeless, Jupiter sank to the floor of the marble courtyard, blood blossoming from the crystalline blade that had been driven directly through her heart before she got chance to finish the incantation required for her attack.

Over her shoulder, the emotionless look on Nephrite's face faulted for a moment as his soulless self was reminded of the love he gave up. As one last kindness, he leant down slightly to close her dulled green eyes, stroking the few bangs that lay over her face out of the way as her hair began to mat in the blood pouring from her pierced heart. Jupiter was gone.

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Author's Notes:**_

_**Next up: Sailor Mercury. Again, don't forget to R&R!**_


	3. Sailor Mercury

_**Blood Pearls - Fall of the Silver Millennium**_

_**Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, not me. This piece of fiction is purely for the amusement of the author and/or reader, and has not been created with the intent to make a profit. Me no own, you no sue!**_

_**Author's notes: This is the one-shot revolving around my theory of Mercury's death. As stated before, the Inner senshi one-shots involve suggestions of Inner/Shittenou, Inner/Starlight and Inner/Inner pairings. Thanks to the people who reviewed! It's great to know people are actually reading these one-shots. If you like this story, try checking out my other story currently ongoing; Andromeda Prophecies. See y'all next chapter!**_

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Three: Sailor Mercury_

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"Serenity? _Serenity?!"_

Sailors Mercury and Venus had searched almost the entirety of the palace trying to find their princess. It was unlikely that she had gone to Earth again after they collected her yesterday - she usually waited a few days so as to put her guardians at ease before trying to sneak off to the blue planet once more.

It never worked. The five of them had grown up together since the four princesses arrived on the moon at the age of eight to start training, so they all knew Serenity's tricks by heart - though the same could be said for her. The Guardian Senshi were the best and perhaps only real friends that she had, naturally their princess knew all four of them almost better than they knew themselves.

"Sere-chan?!" Although the correct thing to say would have been 'princess' as usual, Sailor Venus never had been one for decorum. Without a second thought, Mercury hit the micro-sized button on one of her earrings, which caused her visor to flick into view over her eyes. The supercomputer in her palm clacked as her fingers swept over the keys as if using the small, blue device was second nature to her - and indeed it was. A loud trill came from it as it locked onto Princess Serenity, who was stood at the other end of the hall, staring dreamily at the now closed double doors of the throne room. There was only one explanation for the look on Serenity's face. She could see Venus knew it already; the blonde girl was visibly trying not to giggle as she walked up behind the princess.

"Geez Serenity, don't scare me like that!"

While Venus was happy to stand and gossip with Serenity, completely ignoring their guests, Mercury felt she had best stand in for her comrade's complete lack of decorum amid company, as usual. She stepped forward, her eyes taking in each of the leather-clad Starlights and then Princess Kakyuu, her visor instantly flashing up statistics about the three of them. She turned it off, clearing her throat quietly.

"Greetings. I am Sailor Mercury, one of the four guardians of Princess Serenity." she said, bowing. "This is our captain, Sailor Venus." Upon hearing her name, Venus finally paid them some attention and grinned, making a peace sign before returning animatedly to her conversation. Mercury rolled her eyes at the display. _'This is the White Moon palace! The Captain of the guard should not be so frivolous at a time like this!'_ she thought to herself.

"Princess Kakyuu. I am acting as an ambassador from my home planet, Kinmoku." Kakyuu said, gesturing to her own guardians. "These are my three guardians, the Sailor Starlights - Star Fighter, Star Healer, and Star Maker." Mercury took a close look at each Starlight, silently assessing their level of threat to her princess before she spoke.

"I presume you are not from our solar system, judging by your uniforms." she said, allowing a smile to grace her face as she addressed the question to Maker - her visor had already informed her that the tallest Starlight was the "intelligent" one. The brunette Starlight smiled as she took in the sight of Mercury, who was calmly staring back.

"Correct. We are from the Tankei system." Maker replied. Mercury's polite smile grew slightly. She had read about their system at a young age.

"Is that so? I've extensively studied your system then." she said.

The two of them almost immediately launched into a conversation on advanced astronomy that left Kakyuu politely puzzled and caused Fighter and Healer to share knowing "they're both nerds" looks.

It was soon, almost too soon for Mercury, time for them to leave.

"Well, it was nice meeting you."

She took a step back, trying to calm her thoughts as she felt her heart drumming inside her chest. For some reason her cheeks had been stained scarlet as she turned and followed her princess. It was all she could do to keep one foot moving in front of the other, and yet she could not help but wonder why she cared - it was likely she would never see them again.

Venus had stopped at the end of the corridor, peeking around the sleek marble at the three Starlights and their princess as they had a short conversation then entered the throne room as Endymion swept out, probably on his way to "bump" into Serenity. Smiling slightly, Mercury saw Serenity slipping off again and tugged Venus along the corridor.

* * *

According to her calculations, it had taken little under a week for all the Senshi currently in the service of the Moon Kingdom, including herself (although she was already living in the palace) to gather on the Moon. And not just for Serenity's 16th birthday Masquerade. Sailor Mercury, otherwise known as Mizuno Ami, smiled slightly at the thought of how amazing the party was. She would have spent it with a recent acquaintance of hers; the Shitennou Zoisite, but he hadn't turned up for the party. Something she should have paid more attention to in retrospect. She had a terrible feeling about him, although she knew she loved him - she had just never brought it up and wasn't even entirely sure her feelings were returned. True feminine intuition is rarely wrong - as she was soon to find out.

If the gathering had just been for the Masquerade, she knew Sailor Uranus, for one, would not have shown up. Uranus hated such functions because she actually had to wear a dress for them.

No. This was much worse than a masquerade ball. _This was life and death._

She and Sailor Mars, a lifelong friend, were already slightly cut up from clearing the youma that lead to the marble expanse before descending to the beach of the Mare Serenitatis at the back of the palace. Venus and Jupiter could already be seen calling forth their attacks as she moved to join the fray. Surely the demon in the sky would not take more than a basic attack to be rid of.

"Crescent Beam!"

"Bubble Spray!"

"Fire Soul!"

She felt heat rush past her from Mar's attack. Little did she know this would be the last time she would see her raven-haired companion during the Silver Millennium.

"Where is Serenity?" Venus's frantic voice barely registered. Mercury was too busy trying to force her brain into gear as she stared up at the ghastly face of the youma painting the sky. She let out a gasp unheard by the others as she realised too late that they had not done enough to bring down the Youma.

"Protected. Endymion is guarding her." Mar's reply also fell on deaf ears.

The next thing she knew, four variations of pain ripped through her and she screamed as the force of the blow sent her flying backwards and into a marble panelled wall which cracked as she hit it full force. A blinding pain shot up her spine as she saw a flash of blonde hair and thought she heard spine-chilling laughter. 'It must be Venus' she decided. But why would the blonde senshi be laughing at a time like--

"Split up!"

Obeying without thinking, Mercury ran across the shoreline, trying to find Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. Safety in numbers. She knew from experience Pluto would not attend the fight; she had to defend the Time Doors against Beryl. On her own.

Still no sign of any of the outer-planetary senshi and Mercury was running short of breath now. The bleeding gash in her right shoulder and the cut on her left calf had both re-opened. She could feel the blood dripping down her limbs, her face screwing up as she fought the pain.

Then, she heard that same laughter behind her and was on high alert instantly.

Turning as best she could she heard a shifting sound and Zoisite solidified out of the air in a whirl of cherry blossoms. What was he doing here at a time like this?! She forced herself to ignore the way her heartbeat had sped up. She was in the middle of a battle; there wasn't time to ponder her feelings.

"Zoisite? What are you-"

She did not get chance to finish her inquiry as in another flurry of small pink flora Zoisite moved forward, quite literally sweeping her off her feet and out towards the centre of the Sea of Serenity. Her anxious thoughts came to a stop worthy of a head on train collision as his lips met hers.

"Sayonara."

It was a second or two before she realised that she was falling. The icy cold of the water almost made her scream, but she bit it back as she swam back to the surface, hastily treading water as she looked up at where the figure of Zoisite had been. He was gone. Her bleeding wounds and already the weight of her already tired body dragged her under the level of the water and she did not have the strength to claw for the surface again and make it back to the beach. Eventually she breathed out, a stream of bubbles the only thing that announced her presence as they broke onto the surface of the water that was now metres above her. With no air in her lungs there was nothing to stop her sinking further and further into the depths as her eyes slid closed with the finality of death.

_**

* * *

((A/N: Mercury gone, Venus next!))**_


End file.
